'No debt, no sheikh, no oligarch, no hedge fund' - Bayern Munich proud of operating model

"“One of my life lessons is: Getting to the top is possible and relatively easy. But once you're there, the air gets thinner, they pull at you, they want to tear you down. When I hear our competitors say, 'The economic advantage, the economic advantage' - don't you think that Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart would have had the same conditions we found in Munich? That will be the challenge for our successors in the coming years: to defend the status we have today,”"

"“Because I have to say, FC Bayern is in better shape than it has been in a long time. And I'm not the only one saying that. When we meet up with our friends from Real Madrid before Champions League matches, they always ask: How do you do it? No debt, no sheikh, no oligarch, no hedge fund. That's what we can be proud of.”"

Getting to the top is described as possible and relatively easy, while staying there becomes harder as pressure increases and competitors try to pull clubs down. Competitors’ claims about economic advantage are questioned, since other major German cities would have had similar conditions if that were the deciding factor. The challenge for future leaders is to defend Bayern’s current status. Bayern is said to be in better financial shape than in a long time, with pride in having no debt and no reliance on sheikhs, oligarchs, or hedge funds. Real Madrid is noted as asking how Bayern achieves this before Champions League matches.

Read at Bavarian Football Works